Last month, Catholic school bosses wrote to their 600 principals about their push for more money to spend on building and maintaining schools.

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Ms Berejiklian said a Coalition government would support parents whether they choose to send their children to the local public, Catholic or independent school.

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“We have provided record funding for the public school system, and we are providingrecord support for the Catholic and independent school sectors as well,” she said.

“This additional funding is only possible thanks to the NSW Liberals and Nationalsgovernment’s strong economic management."

Mr Stokes said the increased investment would be delivered through grants under the Building Grants Assistance Scheme, which funds for areas of greatest need.

The scheme takes into account fees, demographics and socio-economic characteristics of the school.

“The NSW Liberals and Nationals recognise that funding for school infrastructure shouldbe consistent with a needs-based sector-blind approach to support the schools whoneed it the most,” Mr Stokes said.

“This record funding announcement will continue to ensure that every student in NSWcontinues to receive the best possible education, in the best facilities – no matterwhere they go to school.”

Schools receiving funding this year include St Francis Catholic College in Edmondson Park ($3.6 million); Australian Christian College – Marsden Park in Riverstone ($950,000); Nowra Christian School in Nowra ($800,000) and St Peter’s Anglican College in Broulee ($300,000).

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the $500 million was "more than double the amountLabor invested in non-government school infrastructure in their last four years".

The state government says it is investing $6 billion over the next four years to deliver more than 170 new and upgraded public schools. This is the largest investment in public school infrastructure by any state government in Australian history.

In the letter to principals, Catholic Schools NSW pointed out that it played a "strategically critical" role in escalating the private school funding issue at a federal level last year, leading to a $4.6 billion deal that included a controversial $1.2 billion choice and affordability fund.